Graphene is a possible electronic material replacement due to its high carrier mobility and saturation velocity as the search for faster and smaller transistors continues. However, the manufacturing of graphene is not conducive to conventional semiconductor manufacturing techniques as the graphene is typically deposited on a metal substrate and then transferred to a dielectric surface. The transfer is typically performed via a tape, stamp, etc. For example, the transfer can be performed by dissolving the metal in a suitable etching solution while the graphene is immobilized by a layer of polymer such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and the PMMA-graphene material is transferred to a non-metallic substrate where the PMMA is subsequently removed. This transfer process introduces a host of processing issues and is difficult to reproduce in a uniform manner at the level required for large scale manufacturing in the semiconductor industry. In addition, current techniques for graphene production require a temperature of 900° C. and above. This high temperature requires specialized processing equipment.
It is within this context that the embodiments arise.